Cyclone Kenneth Strikes Ibo Island

Yesterday afternoon Cyclone Kenneth made landfall in Northern
Mozambique. It was a Force 4 cyclone and struck with tremendous force effecting
some of the Quirimba Islands north of Pemba Mozambique. Islands most seriously
effected were Ibo, Matemo and Quirimba. Over a thousand homes have been
destroyed on Ibo island with serious damage to infrastructure, electrical power
installations and currently there is no communication with the island except by
satellite phone. There has been no loss of life on the islands reported so far,
but the humanitarian impact is severe and very real.

NGO’s and aid organizations are scrambling to get aid to the region, and this includes The Gift of the Givers and many more.

Ibo Island tourism infrastructure has suffered but is likely to be
operational within the next ten days. The islands and communities need the
support from this vital industry to help with their recovery.

The United Nations now sees the need for a new
large-scale humanitarian operation to respond to Cyclone Kenneth’s and its
impact on Northern Mozambique at a time when aid to those affected by Idai
remains “critically underfunded”.

“Cyclone Kenneth may require a major new humanitarian
operation at the same time that the ongoing Cyclone Idai response targeting
three million people in three countries remains critically underfunded,” UN
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief
Coordinator, Mark Lowcock, said.

In a statement issued by the United Nations Office for
the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the official says he is “deeply
saddened by the loss of life and destruction caused by Tropical Cyclone Kenneth
which first hit the Union of Comoros two days ago before making landfall as a
Category 4 storm last night in the Cabo Delgado province in northern Mozambique
on the border with Tanzania”.

With maximum sustained wind speeds of 225 kph and
gusts that reached over 270 kph. The cyclone ripped roofs off homes and
continues to generate heavy rainfall resulting in severe flooding as it moves
in a southerly direction inland of the coast.

This new “disaster comes only six weeks after Cyclone
Idai devastated Beira and central Mozambique, killing more than 600 people,
unleashing a cholera epidemic, wiping out crops in the country’s breadbasket.
Over a million people now rely on food aid to survive.

Cyclone Kenneth has killed one person in the Pemba
city, northern Mozambique. Although there is damage to Pemba – it is not as
severe as what occurred in Beira. Power to the city has just been restored.
However flights in and out of Pemba are currently cancelled till the situation
improves.

Preliminary information points to heavy damage in the
region, with precarious homes destroyed by strong wind and heavy rain, and with
displaced families in the Quirimbas archipelago.

The damage may extend to other parts, the sources
said, but some communications are to be restored in the next 24 hours.